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By Owen Gotimer
LoCoSports Editor
Sterling (April 29, 2015) – Potomac Falls High School junior Olivia Camera has made an early verbal commitment to continue her soccer career at the University of San Francisco beginning in the 2016-2017 academic year.
“I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity that I was given by USF. It is nice to know that I have found a place where I am able to meet both my athletic as well as academic needs and have a coach who really takes an interest in his players,” the 5-foot-8 Camera said. “They take as much pride in their academics as they do in athletics. Many of the girls on my club team had committed before me, though I assured myself that with time, things would fall into place for me and I would find the school that was the perfect match.”
Camera’s perfect match includes San Francisco’s head coach Jim Millinder. In three years at the helm of the program, Millinder has led the Division I Lady Dons to a 20-28-11 record. A two-time Pac-10 coach of the year, Millinder has a 156-115-33 career record at the DI level.
“Being originally from the west coast, I have always wanted to move back. Athletically, I was really glad to have found such a great program where the coaches as well as the players were all very close and supportive of each other,” the southern-California native said. “When I stepped on the campus, I got a sense that everything just felt right. Academics, athletics, the area, as well as the coaching staff had given me a sense of opportunity that I had not felt anywhere else.”
Last fall the coaching staff at San Francisco helped the Lady Dons to a 7-10-3 finish including a 3-5-1 record in the West Coast Conference.
“Going into my freshman year at USF, I will be a dedicated teammate who will continue to learn and grow under the talented coaching staff as well as my teammates,” said Camera who will play goalkeeper for the Lady Dons. “I plan on being ready to go for preseason as well as being able to meet my coach’s expectations coming in.”
After playing for Potomac Falls for the last two seasons, Camera opted to not play for the Panthers this spring in hopes of preparing her FC Virginia ’07 club the best she could for a national tournament.
“The decision to not play for Potomac Falls this year was definitely one of the hardest decisions I have had to make,” Camera said. “Not playing with my high school team has been really hard for me, but I definitely plan on returning next year.”
Owen Gotimer is a graduate of Heritage High School in Leesburg and is currently in his senior year at Syracuse University. Follow LoCoSports on Twitter (@LoCoSports) for up-to-date news and scores from around Loudoun County.
